While it’s great to learn from your mistakes, it’s better to avoid them altogether.  As a first-time apartment renter there is a lot of information that you “need to know” prior to finding a place and moving in. Add this to the current items swirling around in your head that you are worried about: credit score, fees and expenses, packing and moving, finding the best apartment (that you can actually afford) and signing a lease…just to name a few. 

While most people learn best by actually going through the renting process, we’re here to help you avoid the common mistakes that first-time apartment renters seem to make. Mistakes that can end up costing you big in the long run. Below find the things that we wish we knew before we signed our first apartment lease.  

Mistake #1: Glancing Over Your Apartment Lease

Read. Your. Apartment. Lease. We cannot stress this item enough. Seems totally logical, but it’s the #1 thing that gets tenants into legal and financial trouble.  We don’t mean just glance it over either, but actually go through item by item to fully comprehend your responsibilities as a tenant.

The apartment lease document contains critical information for a first-time renter:

Monthly Financial Obligation: Rent, utilities and any other monthly fees assessed by the landlord or management company will be found in your lease. Be careful when just looking at the “rent” amount that first brought you in the door, as the actual monthly responsibilities may be much more. We’ve seen many tenants who sign a lease quickly only to realize that their total monthly financial obligation is completely out of their budget.

Important Dates: The lease document will contain your official move-in, and move-out dates. It will also include other important information like how many days you have until rent is considered late and lease renewal periods. 

Mistake #2: Signing a Lease Without Seeing the Apartment

You must be quite the risk-taker if you are willing to sign a lease for an apartment you’ve never seen…but it happens all the time. Think about it…a first-time renter goes to a community, tours a model apartment, loves it, get’s super excited and signs a lease immediately. While they did technically see an apartment, they didn’t see their exact unit, and that is where the problems can start. 

Whether that means you get shoved into the back of the community with views of trash bins, placed in a dark corner unit with no security lights, or get a unit that comes with a family of rodents in the adjacent bushes…there are a lot of awful circumstances that can occur.

By not seei

ng your exact unit you also deprive yourself of the apartment walkthrough which can allow a tenant to note any and all repairs that need to be made prior to move-in. The walkthrough also safeguards a tenant from accepting any previous damage as their own, which they would end up paying for later.

Mistake #3: Not Adding Up All the Expenses

Like we mentioned earlier, a renters total expenses are more than just the monthly rent for the space. While the rent may be in a tenant’s budget, all of the other expenses, including upfront costs, may not be. That is why it’s so important that prior to signing any lease, or putting down any non-refundable deposit, a first-time renter adds up all of the apartment obligations.

These typically include: 

Monthly Obligations:

-Rent
-Utilities
-Renters Insurance

Upfront Costs:

-First and Last Month Rent
-Application Fee(s)
-Apartment Security Deposit
-Utility Deposit(s)

Mistake #4: Thinking You Don’t Need Renters Insurance

Here’s a scenario for you: 3 am on a Saturday and you are out of town visiting your parents. The unit above yours bursts a pipe and water pours down the walls, through the ceiling and completely floods your apartment. While the landlord is covered for this disaster, the tenant is not.

That means that the landlord will fix any structural damage (pipes, ceiling, walls, flooring and replace any appliances), but they won’t cover any of your belongings that are now ruined from flood damage.

While most apartment communities require renters insurance, it’s always a great idea to get some even if they don’t. A low monthly cost, typically around $10-15 a month, renters insurance will be the best money you ever spent in the face of a disaster, theft or damage.

Looking for your first apartment in Hattiesburg, MS?

Now that you know what NOT to do, you can begin your search for your very first apartment home! If you are seeking apartments in Hattiesburg, MS and surrounding areas our comprehensive site is the best place to start. Search through tons of apartment listings and sort and compare communities based off of the things you care about, like amenities, features and pet policies. Happy hunting!